DES MOINES, Iowa — Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie got a big boost in Iowa Tuesday when six major Republican donors and activists wooed by other GOP candidates declared they were sticking with the New Jersey governor despite his lag in the polls.

The announcement from the big-money, longtime supporters was a blow to other presidential candidates including Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio, who have been hustling to win backers in the state after Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s departure from the race.

“We heard from a variety of (candidates),” said agricultural businessman Bruce Rastetter, who was careful not to criticize any of the other contenders. “It was who you can envision being president and … able to stop the dysfunctionality in Washington.”

Christie won support from six of the seven Iowa Republicans who flew to New Jersey four years ago to urge him to run in the 2012 race — the seventh does not plan to endorse. Christie said he had no regrets about not taking the group up on their suggestion to run then but acknowledged that this time around there “was a lot of shopping to do.” He said he “simply kept talking to these backers to keep their support.”